Six Years Ago Today, Former Coach Here Was Let Go

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RTR91

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Nov 23, 2007
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Six years ago, folks couldn't stand Mike Shula. Two national championships and 5 straight 10-win seasons later, folks say he did the best he could.
 

Chukker Veteran

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Feb 6, 2001
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Mike Shula is a good man. He came back to his University when they needed someone and not many were willing to jump into the fire. For that, I'll always be grateful for his willingness to assume control of the reins and lead the team for several years. It was unfortunate that it didn't work out. I think we all wanted Mike to succeed at Alabama.
Let's don't overlook the fact that Bama made Shula a relatively wealthy man. Tell me another job where "it doesn't work out" and you walk away with several million.

I like Shula and appreciated when he stepped up for Bama, but lifetime financial security isn't something to sneeze at, especially when it comes in after only a few years of work.

Don Shula ran his mouth about Bama after we hired Saban, but who cared at that point?
 

TiderMan

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Feb 5, 2005
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Let's don't overlook the fact that Bama made Shula a relatively wealthy man. Tell me another job where "it doesn't work out" and you walk away with several million.
It happens every year in college football and several just in the past few weeks:
Auburn - Gene Chizik
Tennessee - Derek Dooley
NC State - Tom O'Brien
Kentucky - Joker Phillips
 

Jon

Hall of Fame
Feb 22, 2002
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No, no, no, no, no....


Shula did not do the best he could with a bad situation.

EDIT: I won't belabor the point and Lord knows I"m glad we have CNS, but Shula did a mediocre job at best, even under the circumstances. Search the archives on this site for more information on that point.
I was here throughout

I criticized decisions

I thought the players played sloppily

I thought discipline was lacking

I thought we were under prepared

In hindsight I now realize that it was the best Shula could do
 

TrueGritnPluck

Suspended
Nov 21, 2011
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I don't really think it shows good taste to celebrate the firing of someone, especially a loyal Bama alum and athlete. Let's celebrate the day CNS was hired instead. :frown:
EXACTLY!!!

Especially with the shoddy fashion the firing was handled
 

selmaborntidefan

TideFans Legend
Mar 31, 2000
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I see perhaps I opened a larger can of worms than I intended, so perhaps I should clarify my intent just a bit. Granted, perhaps the title is a little harsh, but I hope you'll spot me post-Iron Bowl fatigue (I spent several hours in several traffic jams headed home Sunday, and I'm still not fully recovered).

The point was not so much to single out our most recent former coach. I rarely mention his name because there was a time for awhile here where any mention of said individual was shut down and thread closed. Yes, those days are gone, but for some of us they're still somewhat fresh.


I was not, however, referring specifically just to what Shula did here; it was the alteration and hopefully a permanent one of the way of doing business here. Gene Stallings resigned on November 30, 1996; CMS was fired on November 27, 2006. The ten intervening years featured FIVE losing seasons, a major probation, and fans actually having to CELEBRATE winning the Weedwhacker Bowl in Shreveport. That might be an acceptable job at Oregon State (not to pick on them, the name just rolled off the top of my head); it is career suicide at Alabama.


I remember (however vaguely) every post-Perkins coaching search. In 1987, only two names really popped up - Bobby Bowden (and whatever mismanagement that involved) and Bill Curry. There were also few candidates in 1990. Bill Curry resigned January 7 and Stallings was hired January 11. IIRC, Bowden was again approached. Say what you will but it seems we basically took a narrow path and it worked out pretty well.

And most folks don't think of this, but consider:

Bobby Bowden: 75-10-1
Gene Stallings: 70-14-1
Steve Spurrier: 73-14-1
Tom Osborne: 74-11-1


Everyone thinks of how good those other three coaches were in the 1990s, but Stallings was right there with them.

My point was that a particular way of doing business hopefully died that day. How in the world did Mike DuBose ever get the head coaching job at Alabama? I remember all the support given Dennis Franchione who - let's face it - we got stuck with because we were staring at DuBose Era sanctions. Who thought he was a good idea, even before he dumped us?

Now a word about Shula - yes, given that he was hired in May 2003 and the alternative was to get accused of racism once we fired the only other candidate, we were stuck with him, too. Shula, I'm sure, did the best job he could do - the problem was that his best really didn't match up to the lofty expectations of Alabama fans. (Amazingly enough, we are always ripped for this - yet everywhere else in society you are EXPECTED to have major achievement. The Alabama head coach position is not a good example of dumbing down).

If CMS had gone 10-3 again in 2006 rather than 6-6, he would have been invited back on. But my point is that the farewell was to a way of doing business that failed us for a decade. That's all.

It was the dark before the dawn.
 

Huckleberry

All-American
Nov 9, 2004
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should have left it up, it was a good post
It's been a tough week at work. I let that emotion guide my comments and judgement in this thread at a time when we should be looking forward to Saturday's game. It was a better post for the offseason, if it all. There's a lot of water that's passed under the bridge since Coach Bryant died. Now is not the time to instigate discourse among certain factions of Alabama fans (at least by me). Thanks for your kind words, though.
 

Quicksilver

1st Team
Mar 13, 2010
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Bama has had very few, if any, QBs that could have done what he did that night. Most recently, McCarron, as great as he has been for Bama, could not do it very late against the barn after McElroy went down in the 2010 game.

Mike Shula, laying flat of his back after being sacked on his own 12 yard line, called his final time out with 38 seconds left. Then, facing 2nd and 18 at the 12 with, as said, no time outs, picked himself up and went and won the football game. There is about a snowball's chance of any QB doing that under those circumstances. That too is the Mike Shula I remember. Just like it was yesterday!
I never get tired of watching the replay of that drive. Jelks got out of bounds, then Al Bell on the double reverse, and finally, miraculously, Richardson made it to the sideline after catching the ball in the middle of the field. Shula had to be perfect to get Tiffin in range, and he was.
 

Florida Tom

All-American
Aug 15, 2011
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Most Alabama fans just love the University so much the passion of talking about former coaches really hits a nerve.

I will hold mine till after this season.

But I think or hope one thing we can all agree on is that we are so fortunate to have CNS & his staff working with these young men. Not just being a good football team but much more than that, good people. We will have afew go the wrong direction.

When we win Saturday, we have a shot at something only the Best Coach in the history of the world did at Alabama.

Lets Beat the Dog out of the Dogs & just be thankful we have a leader of the Best Program in the country running it.

This won't last forever & a lot of younger folks are getting the opportunity to see what us old folks did in the 60's & 70's
 

Im_on_dsp

All-SEC
Oct 10, 2007
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Maybe in a decade or two people will finally be able to admit what a colossal failure Shula was and stop apologizing for him.
I don't know of any fan that would say Shula's tenure was a success, by any measure. However, some of you act like he personally let you down and should be tarred and feathered, burned at the stake, etc., such that we're even commemorating the day he was fired. That kind of attitude is a shining example of the kinds of things that are wrong in sports. :mad2:
 

SavannahDare

Hall of Fame
Jul 23, 2004
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I don't know of any fan that would say Shula's tenure was a success, by any measure. However, some of you act like he personally let you down and should be tarred and feathered, burned at the stake, etc., such that we're even commemorating the day he was fired. That kind of attitude is a shining example of the kinds of things that are wrong in sports. :mad2:
The only thing "wrong" with it is people taking it so personally. There's absolutely nothing wrong with wanting to be better and constantly attempting to move your program/team/self up the ladder of success in sports, or life for that matter. I'd say being complacent and settling for mediocrity in our program was a large part of the problem in the years after Coach Stallings left (and the years between CPB and CGS). As a fan base, we moaned and gnashed our teeth, but the PTB didn't have a sense of urgency that they were able to translate into a good enough hire. It wasn't until MM managed to secure CNS that I was convinced that UA finally understood that you cannot rest on the laurels of your past successes because, other than fond memories, it means absolutely nothing in terms of present success.

Personally, I thank all our sub par former coaches for their service only in that they managed to show us what we didn't want and spurred on the hiring authorities to finally remove their heads from their backsides and get it right.
 

TommyMac

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Apr 24, 2001
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I don't really think it shows good taste to celebrate the firing of someone, especially a loyal Bama alum and athlete. Let's celebrate the day CNS was hired instead. :frown:
Funny thing about this "loyal Bama alum," he never saw fit to set foot back on campus after graduating until Bama waved $900,000 at him. :rolleyes:
 

TommyMac

Hall of Fame
Apr 24, 2001
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Bama has had very few, if any, QBs that could have done what he did that night. Most recently, McCarron, as great as he has been for Bama, could not do it very late against the barn after McElroy went down in the 2010 game.

Mike Shula, laying flat of his back after being sacked on his own 12 yard line, called his final time out with 38 seconds left. Then, facing 2nd and 18 at the 12 with, as said, no time outs, picked himself up and went and won the football game. There is about a snowball's chance of any QB doing that under those circumstances. That too is the Mike Shula I remember. Just like it was yesterday!

I'll assure you that there have been many Bama QBs that could have done exactly that. You evidently either have a low opinion of former Bama QBs or you are ignorant of how blessed we've been at the QB position.
 

BAMAFAN IN NY

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Jan 2, 2007
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I was firmly in Mike Shulas corner until his last Arkansas game. We should have won that game. I mean seriuosly.. How do you run up the middle trying to set up a FG, when your freshman kicker is so rattled he cant possibly make it? And how is that JC was healthy enough for kickoffs, but not for FGs?????

Thinking about that game gets my blood pressure up every time
 

Im_on_dsp

All-SEC
Oct 10, 2007
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Funny thing about this "loyal Bama alum," he never saw fit to set foot back on campus after graduating until Bama waved $900,000 at him. :rolleyes:
And you know that because you have a house just outside the entrance to the campus and you monitor all the comings and goings? The truth is you don't really have any idea, nor do I. People come and go around this country all the time, that's one of the freedoms we enjoy. Not every person of celebrity status announces where they are every minute. There are literally thousands of ex Alabama football players, do they all come to every homecoming?
 
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